Gamespot Chronicles the Development and Goals Behind MLP: Fighting is Magic with MANE6; “The pony aspect has been overtaken by the drive to make this a good fighting game.”

From its beginnings as mock-up images on a messageboard to an exhibition on the EVO 2012 show floor, My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic has certainly come a long way. Gamespot’s Maxwell McGee recently took the chance to speak with MANE6, the development team behind the fan-game, to get a feel for how this independent title wound up uniting two vastly different communities. While the idea of pitting morally-sound horses against each other in a fighting game is odd, even in a genre that’s seen its fair share of out-there titles and characters, McGee’s editorial follows the game from conception to the present-day in an effort to show how the passion of these six individuals has resulted in a legitimate fighter.

This lengthy piece covers the game’s beginnings and initial brainstorming sessions, the problems MANE6 overcame during development, how their goals changed over the course of time, what they hope to accomplish in the future, and much more. It’s a fascinating look at the drive of a dedicated group of fans, and how they turned their love for a cartoon (and the continued encouragement of supporters in both the pony and fighting game communities) into something they can be proud of.

We’ve included a small excerpt below, but be sure to visit Gamespot to read the entire article.

MANE6’s endless problem solving finally paid off with the release of the first Fighting Is Magic trailer. Uploaded to YouTube on June 19, 2011, the video was met with an overwhelmingly positive reaction, as described by its creators. It has since earned more than 900,000 views, and while some viewers simply “don’t get it” or think the team is wasting its talents (a notably backhanded compliment), the trailer is considered MANE6’s first major “hype milestone.”

The fan response far outstripped the team’s more conservative predictions. At best, they thought a small trickle of fans from within the pony community would take notice. What they got was a tidal wave–and not just from within the fandom. “We realized what we had in our hands and thought, ‘Uh-oh, we really need to do this well,'” said Anukan. “[Fighting Is Magic] needed to be more than just fighting with ponies; it needed to be a competent fighting game that just happens to have ponies.”

“To be honest, the pony aspect has been overtaken by the drive to make this a good fighting game,” Wright said. “We have been overwhelmed by the validation from different areas of the fighting game community. It has been pretty amazing.”

Part of that validation came from an unlikely benefactor who helped thrust Fighting Is Magic into the cold, calculating eyes of the fighting game community at the Evolution Championship Series, the world’s premier fighting game tournament.

I tried out one of the build leaks a while ago, it obviously still feels like a WIP but it’s pretty fun and plays like a mix of Blazblue and MvC3.

Look up the music on Youtube, it sounds really good and I don’t even give a shit about MLP.

FGCLove

Seriously? I am playing both games and I can say this is shit!!!! Don’t even compare Blazblue beauty and Marvel craziness (in a good sense) and hype to this…… euh!. What was that? seriously?

Louis Lam

“I haven’t seen any gameplay footage of a game that’s not out of it’s alpha phase yet but I’m sure it sucks and doesn’t play anything like what I play because it looks like a TV show I’ve never watched!”

FGCLove

“I am so smart, if someone doesn’t like what I like, he is a dumb. I can say a game is the best even if it is out yet. So everyone have to agree with me because I love my little pony because it is a part of my life. For making people love it too, I am gonna compare it to 2 legit games. You can’t judge the game I love because you can’t”
Now you can go crazier, I won’t answer you back.

Louis Lam

I didn’t say you were dumb (starting to think so now), or that the game in it’s current state (or rather it’s state months ago) was even good, it was a gameplay/controls/mechanics comparison for what was yet to come. I’m also already stated that I’m not a MLP fan.

Nice try though.

Ndebe

i %100 agree im alraedy 12 yrs old im 2 old 4 dis pony shit i only do cool shit like yelling fuccc to my 6th grade teacher and say no to my mom i dont need dis pony shit

i only play cool games like marvel and bbcs all u losers can stick wit ur pony shit lol u guyz hav no life

fgc<3

FGCLove

“I hope the guy I insulted on internet gonna hate himself and commit a suicide!!! That guy had no life, he was spending all his life answering a comment!!! Now I feel better because I made him feel worse; I am sure he is crying right now.”
You are so funny. I love when people think they know everything about someone on internet. Well, try to hurt me as much as you can, maybe after that I won’t come here anymore.

http://profile.yahoo.com/OV7QR6NN55NSFVT6WAV67FDQFM Danny

AHahahahahaha… very funny. try harder next time, and try to look less like an kid with runny nose

http://www.facebook.com/Mikaidesu Juan Lau

lol Blazblue a simplified version of its predecessor Guilty Gear MVC3 the same damn thing with UGLY models with a filter that makes the retards think it looks fucking amazing and oh yea characters that were removed that MADE capcom what they are.

Louis Lam

You’re right about both games, but the comparison was more for general controls/mechanics than anything else. It’s also a bit unfair to compare a fan game made by a bunch of MLP fans to anything past current gen in a competitive aspect though.

NyuBomber

As long as the engine is good, I say sure, why not! Good luck to ‘em!

Jay Wright

Thanks! The engine, however, is not good. We’re trying though.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IMW4FEU4ORLNXO7RPHLGXYUDUA Luke Taylor

looks gay

Ndebe

agreed im 12 years old already im too grown up for dis shit

http://www.facebook.com/Pat1711 Patrick Reeves

More like you’re not mature enough to enjoy a good piece of work.

Calcos323

Game is looking more legit than most of the fighters that have come out in the last year.

Just damn lol check your own spelling before correcting somebody else but i didnt know i was being graded on this pop quiz

Louis Lam

*you’re

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_TIC7WNRSMFBSCLF6OR6JQJAAZA sb

Well there goes that SRK degree i was going for what will i do now

http://www.facebook.com/people/Justin-Archer/747006074 Justin Archer

Learn how to read and write?

blackavengre

Sick of seeing this. Your is fine. You’re is possessive, use it when you speak of someones item (material)

Futtock

Hmm, is that deliberate reversal of fact? It’s hard to tell sometimes with comments. Anyway, http://www.youre.co.uk/

meyer10101

These comment chains are why I still bother scrolling down to read the comments section.

meyer10101

*Grammar Nazis

Herbert Jones Rovbinson

North Star for top tier!

AveDeRapina

At the end of the day, this just looks like more bronies trying to shove their stupid girl’s show into everything they touch. That might not be the case, but that’s certainly what it looks like.

Calcos323

It’s not. The game is doing it’s damndest to be a legit tourney FG first, and a pony game second. Honestly, aesthetics shouldn’t matter too much when judging a Fighter. What matters is depth of mechanics, healthy balance, and a small amount of bullshit to make things exciting. Whether or not the characters are ponies should be the last thing on your mind.

supersonicspear64

is this what everyone who likes the show says to people who don’t like it? i don’t like the aesthetics of the game, nor the source material, so i’m not going to play it.

Simply Chun-believeable ^_~ ♥♥

And the dev team shall crash and burn, because you’re not going to play it.

Jay Wright

I’m actually crying right now. That’s another sale lost!

supersonicspear64

I didn’t say anything about how I wish this game didn’t exist or that it does poorly. I just stated that I don’t like the aesthetics or the cartoon. If it’s a good fighting game, then it’s a good fighting game. However, I don’t really have my hopes up for a 2d fighter maker 2002 game that’s from a cartoon I don’t like.

On that note, I personally think that MLP will be a headache to try to get setups for at a tournament, and setting up controls for people who want to use their own sticks will have difficulty unless they release a frontend that allows for quick setup of buttons/joysticks.

http://twitter.com/cnorw00d Robbie J

you should know damn well asthetics do matter, thats why no one plays skull girls anymore.

Calcos323

No one plays Skullgirls because the FGC hates every new game that comes out nowadays by default. Whether it, or any other game that came out in the past year, is good is irrelevant.

http://www.facebook.com/Mikaidesu Juan Lau

more like any game thats not made by Capcom, id also say Aksys but we all really know Blazblue is shit compared to GuiltyGear

Ryan Peters

You got that the other way around, buddy. Capcom games definitely get the most flak of the bunch.

ZigTheHunter

What are you talking about? Just as many people, if not more, like the aesthetics of Skullgirls then people who dislike it.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QLAAMUYFVQ3IH5MGHPY2LWDYZA Hitokage

You’d have a better point with Arcana Heart 3, but even then people drop so many games these days it’s hard to argue anything actually matters more than failing to be the flavor of the month after the month ends.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_TIC7WNRSMFBSCLF6OR6JQJAAZA sb

The game is doing it’s damndest to be a legit tourney FG first
^^please tell me your not serious^^

Calcos323

I know many of the devs personally, and have been following development from the beginning. I can assure you that the pony aspect of this game is secondary to the Fighting aspect. Honestly, I wouldn’t give a shit about this game if it weren’t shaping up to be a fantastic FG.

BurstZX

You can’t be serious. I would never blindly play something because it is something. Visuals are ALWAYS important thats the whole point of a video game.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Justin-Archer/747006074 Justin Archer

What an idiotic statement. So would you play a fighting game where there characters were a bunch of dicks and vaginas just because it has good core mechanics? What a load of crap.

Calcos323

>shouldn’t matter too much

Of course they matter, but not as much as the actual fighting system. I wouldn’t play an amazing fighter if I was forced to play as pieces of shit, but I also wouldn’t play a fighter with terrible mechanics, even if the visuals are orgasmic.

Aw hell no, Pocky’s the shit. Problem’s when you eat it by the bucket.

RenaTurnip

No, I enjoy Marvel, and I obviously spike my hair and wear my shades and trenchcoat EVERYWHERE I GO.

I also buy lots of blenders.

Snow Loss

>Implying I don’t wear a three billion dollar metal suit to play fighting games.

Donovan Harris

Aoko body pillows…$8.95

Simeon

LOL

AFMBari

Is this real life?

Kevin Wark

Is this just fantasy?

http://twitter.com/Rockmanll Eddie

Caught in a landslide

http://www.facebook.com/Strider973 Henny Henri

Caught in a landslide. No escape from reality

Austin Davoren

Open your eyes.

Satsui

Look up to the skies and see

Donovan Harris

I’m just a poor boy.

GC001

Oh my goodness… This game ought to be funny at least!
Some of the best characters I’ve seen in MUGEN-type/doujinshi games are based on animated series and comic book characters as well as anime/manga series.

Until I downloaded MUGEN recently (the DC Vs Marvel fan edition), I had no idea about what was so attractive about this scene. Besides the only cost being your time, it’s the ability to customize your game and include whatever characters you choose strictly from what’s available online OR in your ability to create with existing editing tools.

Myself — I don’t have the time to edit or learn programming language to do the characters justice but I can at least set up the game with the characters I want and additional stages (provided the extras I add are compatible… That’s an issue with MUGEN being a fan-based game engine and temperamental… Plus many of the characters have what seems like a dozen versions online and it’s up to the individual gamer to find the latest, most stable playable versions of characters).

FYI all — The My Little Pony game is a FAN game, it’s not a FOR-PROFIT, officially licensed game!!! It is going to be a FREE ONLINE RELEASE like Vanguard Princess and Melty Blood initially were. Comparisons with Skullgirls really aren’t fair. They’re apples and oranges. Same as comparing poly fighters with hand-drawn fighting games…

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IMW4FEU4ORLNXO7RPHLGXYUDUA Luke Taylor

i dont know what you are talking about
are you talking about MLP or nt knowing how to use mugen…..
cus i can help you with mugen….

Syndication_M

Day 1 purchase

http://www.facebook.com/departanddisappear Destin Williams

I came here for the comments.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1101712987 Joshua Isaac Rogers

same

meyer10101

I also came……for the comments, get your mind out of the gutter.

http://twitter.com/Seventyxxtimes7 7-D Sensei

Love pony’s but i play way to many fighting games for my own good as it is…

http://twitter.com/hammermountain a real ghost

as a person who doesn’t like MLP, i probably won’t be playing it. i mean even if the engine is amazing, it doesn’t make up for the fact that the characters in the game i’ll be playing as are ponies from a show i just don’t care for. i dont think the makers of this game expect me to play it either. that being said, it seems like the people who do like MLP (or at least a majority) enjoy this game and im not going to shit on their parade just because we have differing tastes. enjoy your pony fighting game, bronies.

meyer10101

Why can’t there be more of you? L&T

Snow Loss

Honestly I might have found great joy is this seemingly random fan creation for the novelty alone. However after having miniature horses crammed down my throat on nearly every corner of the web over the past few years on a day-to-day basis, I find myself firmly in the “hater” category. I’m just sick of seeing this stuff.

It’s good that this thing actually got off the ground and is getting some headway though. Hell we’ve all seen fan and community projects that are “totally going to be finished and amazing”, but this is actually getting done, so kudos on that. I just wish I had the capacity to enjoy it.

BurstZX

Personally I feel the same in some sense.
I don’t even think people
actually like MLP they just “like” this because it’s what everyone else
is doing. Throwing meme after meme and just now getting into it even
though its been out for years(Can’t deny not knowing about it since the
toys are always on tv. . .)
I think they just made this with the boom of “Fans”.

Jake Long

I’m sure there are plenty of people who like the show ironically (“Hey, I’m a 20-year-old guy and I’m watching a show aimed at 5-year-old girls! I’m such an individual!”). There are also plenty of people who watch the show just because of the internet fandom and memes surrounding it.

I can assure you that there are a much larger amount of people who watch the show because… it’s honestly a good show. The writing is sharp, the moral of the day somehow manages to be effective without bashing you over the head, and the characters are (in a rare feat for a girls’ show) actual characters with actual flaws and personalities instead of merely ‘the one with the pink hair’ and ‘the one with the blue hair.’

http://www.facebook.com/people/Bobby-E-Adams/71006318 Bobby E. Adams

“Don’t feed the trolls” huh, looks like they’ll be getting all of their vitamins and nutrients with this one.

Fact is, a lot of people aren’t gonna play a game if they don’t like the character designs. I feel the same way about this game as I do about Arcana Pedos, I’m sure they did a fine job making it, but I’m not touching it.

If y’all like little girls ponies shows, then by all means enjoy playing this game.

Castigation

I just don’t see this game surviving without Hasbro slapping a big old cease and desist on it.

http://twitter.com/Gemakai Gemakai

Hasbro is aware of the game’s existence and since the developers basically aren’t profiting from this at all, they’re generally cool with it. To Hasbro, this is just more free advertising.

more mugen updates on srk front page plz, sf is so fucking boring get that shit outta here

BeholdMyPower

Mr. Wizard, please announce this as an EVO title just so I can revel in the community’s reaction.

meyer10101

That was my Christmas wish. I could have had immortality, but this seemed more important.

http://twitter.com/VAStreamMonster Marty

MLP: High Stakes Money Matches?

spider1991

I need no sympathy

Donovan Harris

Because I’m easy come, easy go

http://reboundpants.com Carlos A. Mercado

Little High, Little Low

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001743622547 Zane Hayden

After Skullgirls, honestly gonna say this caught my attention because of the animation.

http://www.facebook.com/garrett.e.jones Garrett Jones

The combination of these two demographics are exclusive, not inclusive. Trying to make an MLP game and trying to make it a good fighting game will just shut out both parties. The niche created by this game’s concept just isn’t worth filling. I mean why are they doing this, really?

http://twitter.com/Gemakai Gemakai

Haven’t gotten to try it out yet, but the few gameplay clips do look like the devs put alot of work into it. The fact that it’s free is icing on the cake.